Count Your Blessings
I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. ~Psalm 104:33
In celebrating Thanksgiving, our thoughts go back to the very first Thanksgiving of the pilgrim settlers who came to America. They came to America with the dream of a life without the tyranny of government interference with their worship of God. They came with the idea of one nation under God. They had to endure the harshness of the ocean journey and settlement in a new land with little supplies and just the clothes on their backs. There was sickness and the sad burial of loved ones who succumbed along the way. Yet, with a spirit of thankfulness, they prepared a banquet of freshly grown vegetables and meat prepared from wild game that was caught, and they collectively lifted their voices to God. Their song may have been just like the psalmist who said, “I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” Like the psalmist and the pilgrims, let us take time today to count our blessings.
There is the responsibility to be thankful.
The psalmist said, “Bless the LORD, O my soul.” We have a responsibility to be thankful. It is God’s will that we are thankful. We are to offer the sacrifices of praise from our lips to God. As His prized creation, praise and thanksgiving are expected of us. To be unthankful is crude, pagan, and selfish. We can be thankful for all things. We can be thankful for little things, great things, difficult things, and hard things. Being thankful is a spiritual exercise that does much good for our souls.
There are the reasons for thanksgiving.
As we read Psalm 103 and Psalm 104, there are numerous things that we can thank God for. Thank God for His Person. Thank God for His perfection. Thank God for His promises. Thank God for His performance. Thank God for His power. Thank God for His provision. Thank God for His people. Thank God for everything.
There is the repetition in thanksgiving.
The psalmist said he would sing unto the Lord as long as he lived and had his being. Thanksgiving is to be repeated and exercised throughout our life. It would be good for us to have a thanksgiving list that is as extensive as our prayer list. We should resolve that we will be thankful as our lifestyle. Our worldly society speaks of lifestyle choices that people make. However, proper lifestyle choices involve having a thankful spirit. We should be noted and thought of as people who live to give glory and praise to God.
There is the rejoicing in thanksgiving.
The psalmist said, “My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.” Thanksgiving causes us to think often of the Lord and His goodness to us. As each day unfolds with its new blessings, our hearts should leap with joy that God cares for us more than we understand. Being thankful stirs within us a heart of rejoicing. Thankful people are happy people. They are at peace with people and events in their life. They know that God knows what is best for them and are happy always in Him.
Count your blessings, and name them one by one. Never allow the sorrows of this life overshadow the blessings of God.
Have a thankful God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Romans 4-7